Lubricating device



Aug. 18, 1936. v. J. HARRIS LUBRICATING DEVICE Filed Sept. 15, 1930 5Sheets-Sheet l A TTORNEYJ Aug. 18, 1936. v J HARRIS 2,051,706

LUBRICATING DEVICE Filed Sept. 15, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. lernon v/. fiarr/s VBYMXM A TTORNEYS Aug. 18, V J HARRls LUBRICATINGDEVICE Filed Sept. 15, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 &

I N VEN TOR.

A TTORNEYQS- Aug. 18, 1936. v. J. HARRIS 2,051,706

LUBRI CATING DEVI CE Filed Sept. 15, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVEN TOR. lernon r/ arr/Ls A TTORNEYS Aug. 18, 1936. v5.1. HARRIS LUBRICATINGDEVICE Filed Sept. 15, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I N VEN TOR.

Mar-non (J. Harris A TTORNEYS Patented Aug. 18, 1936 UNITED STATESLUBRICATIN G DEVICE Vernon J. Harris. Cleveland, Ohio, assignor toJoseph Weidenhoif, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation of IllinoisApplication September 15, 1930, Serial No. 481,996 12 Claims. (cl. 123-196) sult, when the suction was greatest, as when the engine wasidling. the maximum amount of lubricant was supplied, and when thesuction was 15 least, as at high speed, the least lubricant wassupplied, which was a result exactly the opposite of the one desired. Asecond type furnished a constant supply of oil per minute at all timesand under all varying rimning conditions which 20 obviously would bewasteful at low speeds or insuillcient at high speeds.

An object of my invention is to secure maxi-' mum efliciency in an oilerwhich may be used for lubrication as above described. As stated,

25 above, the suction available to draw oil from a given supply sourceto the intake manifold, such suction resulting from the vacuum createdby the engine, varies inversely as the need for lubricating the variousparts. In designing my improved 30 lubricating mechanism I have made useof this principle to the extent that I provide means, herein illustratedas a pressure controlled valve structure, inserted between the source oflubricant supply and the suction line through which the lu- 35 bricantis drawn to the manifold for controlling the rate of flow of thelubricant. I propose to control the operation of this valve by thesuction in such way that the valve opens to permit a more rapid flow oflubricant upon decreased suc- 40 tion in the line.

Another object of my invention is to include means whereby the quantityof oil reaching the parts to be lubricated may be varied manually tomeet the requirements of different jobs and 45 grades of oil, et cetera.In accomplishing this object I propose to provide a manually adjustablecontrol element limiting the quantity of oil which may subsequently beautomatically controlled as to its rate of flow by my suction governedvalve 50 control. In this way I attain a very precise adjustmentmechanism whereby extremely eflicient operation involving little or nowaste results. While several specific structures have been illustratedherein the basic principle involved is the 55 same.

Various other objects and meritorious features of my invention will beapparent from the following disclosure taken in conjunction with thedrawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatical illustration of the various elementsinvolved.

Fig. 2 is an elevation, partly in section, of my oiler,

Fig. 3 is a section on 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a section on 4-4 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a section on 5-5 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 6 illustrates a detail of my oiler,

Fig. 7 is a section on '|-l of Fig. 4,

Fig. 8 illustrates a modified form of my oiler;

Fig. 9 is a sectional plan view taken along 9-! l of Fig. 10,

Fig. 10 is a section along l0l0 of Fig. 9,

Fig. 11 is a section on ii--l i'of Fig. 9,

Fig. 12 is a section on I2l2 of Fig. 10,

Fig. 13 is a section on i3--|3 of Fig. 11, and

Fig. 14 is a detail illustration.

Important features reside in the provision of an oil containercommunicating with the suction side of an engine so that oil may bedelivered therefrom to the engine and a depression maintained in thecontainer to assist in the delivery of oil; an oil container asdescribed having a secondary oil reservoir from which oil is deliveredto the engine and means automatically responsive to vacuum to controlthe quantity of oil delivered from the secondary reservoir to theengine; control means responsive to the depression in the container toregulate the volume of oil delivered; and means for delivering avariable and small quantity of oil in an air stream from the containerto the engine and for indicating the quantity delivered in the streamand subsequently augmenting the air supply in the stream by air admittedfrom the container to maintain the depression therein.

In the diagrammatical illustration of Fig. 1 the numeral Ill representsa conventional internal combustion engine, to the intake manifold I! ofwhich a carburettor I4 is secured in usual fashion. The carburettor isfed from the vacuum tank It through the line i8. The vacuum in tank Itis maintained in the customary fashion by the suction created throughthe line 20 from the intake manifold. My improved oiler is illustrated,also diagrammatically, in this figure by the numeral 22 and is connectedby suction line 24 with the intake manifold II. The oiler comprises aprimary supply source, or bottle, 28 which is provided with a filler cap28.

One embodiment of my invention is illustrated 66 in Figs. 2 to '7,inclusive, wherein the primary source of lubricant supply is preferablya glass bottle 26 to facilitate checking of the oil supply, the top ofwhich is covered with a plate such as a casting 30 which seats about thetop peripheral wall of the bottle. This casting is provided with theaforesaid filler cap 26 into which the closure 32 is threaded. Insertedthrough two cored out portions of the casting are air inlet tubes 34 and36, these tubes having access to atmospheric pressure through a vent 38and smaller individual vents 46. These latter vents are located in asmall plate which rests upon the top of the tubes 34 and 36, and an aircleaner, or filter, 44 cleanses the air prior to its ingress into thetubes.

Tube 34 extends to the bottom of the bottle 26 and is turned upwardlyinto the flared lower end of another tube or standpipe 46. The flare atthe bottom of tube 46 is such as to provide but a small clearance aboutthe opening of tube 34. Tube 46 extends upwardly and is bent into asingle coil 48, as clearly indicated in Fig. 6, continuing on upwardlythrough an opening in the casting 30 and opening into a portion 5| of acored out chamber 50 in the casting. The coil 48 is provided at itsupper portion with an aperture 52. Tube 36 extends into the tube 46 atthat portion where the coil straightens to again start its upward pathbelow the aperture 52 and below the oil level standing in the coil whenelevated thereinto as described. As in the case of tube 34, the endopening of tube 36 is so enlarged as to provide but a small clearancebetween the walls of tube 46 and itself.

A chamber 54 forms an upper continuation of chamber 50 and constituteswhat may be termed the valve casing, wherein an air piston assembly 56is free to travel. The piston 56 is normally held against the cap 58 ofthe valve casing by means of a coil spring 60 seated between the saidpiston assembly and a ledge 62 at the bottom and around the inner wallsof the said casing 54. The upper portion of chamber 54 above the pistonis open to the atmosphere through a restricted vent 55.

Secured to the piston stem 64 and adapted to slide within the chamber 50is a blade 66 which extends across the diameter of said chamber 5|] andthroughout its length. The upper portion of blade 66 is cut away uponeach side as indicated at 68 in Fig. 5, and the said blade is heldagainst ledges 10, which extend longitudinally of the chamber 50 onopposite sides thereof, by means of a spring member 72 thereby dividingchamber 50 into two parts and forming the chamber 5| therein whichserves as the secondary reservoir to receive oil from the standpipe 46.Chamber 50 is cut away at the bottom as at 49 to permit oil overflowingat cut away portions 68 above the blade 66 to fall back into the bottle.The spring 12 holds the blade 66 against the ledges 10 so as to form asufiiciently tight seal therewith to constitute a secondary reservoirfor the purpose described.

The suction line 24 is connected, through a threaded nipple 14, with acored out passage 16 in casting 30 which connects with a larger coredout tray portion 18. A tube having an upper turned over goose neckportion 82 above the tray portion 18 extends down through the casting 30to open above a trough-like member 84 securely positioned within thecasting 36. This trough like member 84 receives oil from the secondaryreservoir portion 5| of valve chamber 50 through a passageway 86. Stem88 of a manually adjustable threaded valve 90 extends down into passage66 intermediate the extremities thereof. By adjusting the valve 90 theflow of oil through passage 86 by gravity from chamber 5| to oil trough84 may be prevented, or permitted to any desired extent. In this wayregulation on the flow of oil is imposed by the initial manual settingto suit the particular job, and within the limits so imposed automaticcontrol is exercised.

The vacuum in the suction line 24 of course produces a corresponding,though generally a slightly less, vacuum in the bottle above the oillevel. The bottle is what might be termed a closed bottle. It has, ofcourse, the air intake tubes 34 and 36 heretofore described. The samedepression is of course present in valve chamber 50 as exists in thebottle. Variation in depression in the intake manifold produces ofcourse a proportionate variation in depression in the bottle though thedepression in the bottle may differ slightly from that in the intake,due to one reason or another.

It is evident from the above description that with any variation of thepressure in the chamber 50 below piston 56 the atmospheric pressureabove the piston assembly will actuate the said piston to cause theblade 66 to move upward and downward within the chamber 50. Oil issuingfrom the top of tube 46 will be held in the portion of chamber 50 on thesame side of blade 66 as is the tube 46 by means of blade 66, but shouldthe oil rise to a point above the cut away portion 68 it will over-flowinto the bottle 26. The extent of the head of oil in chamber 5| istherefore determined by the position of the blade 66.

The variation in the rate of oil flow is secured by the variation in thehead of oil in secondary chamber 5| which variation in head is obtainedby the travel of the blade 66. As the blade 66 is lowered due toincrease in vacuum in chamber 50 the level of the oil, and hence thehead of oil, above the passage 86 will be decreased, resulting in adecreased force, and tending to cause less oil to flow by gravitythrough passage 86 into trough 84. As the blade lifts, when the vacuumis overcome by the spring 60 and the piston lifts, the head of oil israised and more oil flows through passage 86. The head of oil in chamber5| therefore varies inversely with the depression in the bottle.

A transparent dome 92 is inserted in the casting 30 over the goose neckportion 82 of tube 80 for the purpose of permitting the user to inspectthe drop by drop flow of the oil.

In the operation of the device here described, the starting of theengine creates a depression on the bottle and air is drawn through tubes34 and 36. These tubes deliver air into the stand pipe 46. The airrising through the standpipe lifts oil in a succession of bubbles to thesecondary reservoir 5|. This action is somewhat like that which producessoap bubbles in a pipe. The particular structure is highly eflicient.Until the oil in the bottle 26 reaches a level below that of aperture 52in the coil 48 in the stand pipe oil will flow through the said apertureand into said coil and around to a position to where it may be drawn upalong the wall of the tube 46 by the air admitted through the air tube36.

When the oil level falls below that of the aperture 52 the oil will thenbe drawn up from the bottom of the tube 46 by air entering through airtube 34, and upon the oil reaching the point in the standpipe 46 wherethe tube 36 enters it,

the effort of lifting the oil the remaining distance will be carried onby the air entering through the tube 38. Therefore a relatively deepbottle or source of oil supply may be employed and such number ofsecondary lifts as are necessary may be provided, as there is a limitedmaximum elevation that a suificient quantity of oil can be lifted inthis manner with air entering through one inlet.

Oil which has entered the secondary reser voir SI is allowed to flowfrom there by gravity through passageway 86 to oil pan 84 where it ispicked up by the tube 80 and drawn therethrough by suction. It fallsfrom the outlet of the goose neck portion 82 in drops and is visibleunder the transparent dome 82. An air outlet 83 is shown in goose neck82 to permit the discharge of the air and to facilitate the discharge ofthe oil from the lower end of the tube in drops which may be measured.

From the pan l8 underneath the glass dome 82 the oil is drawn outthrough the cored out passageway 18 and suction tube 24 into the intakemanifold to be discharged to the engine.

Air, of course, enters with the oil through the tube 80 but the amountof air mixed with the oil is greatly increased after the oil passesthrough the glass dome 02 by air admitted to the passageway 18 from thebottle through the passageway H which is controlled by the ball checkvalve assembly 18. The admission of air at this point to be exhaustedfrom the bottle with the oil stream serves to maintain the depression inthe battle which would otherwise be overcome by the air admitted theretoby the atmosphere through air inlet 38.

The greater portion of the air admitted. through the opening 38 does notpass through the tubes 34 and 38. If it did, there would be too much airgoing through these tubes to satisfactorily function to lift the oil inthe standpipeas described. The greater portion of this air enters thebottle directly above the oil level rather than below it and through thepassageway 38 which is controlled by the ball check valve assembly H.

The ball check valve assembly M and ball check valve assembly I8 areeach arranged to open easily against the resistance of their retainingspring upon the slight variation in pressure against the ball so that inthe first case almost the entire quantity of air admitted through theopening 38 will enter the bottle through the air check valve II and inthe second case the greater portion of air taken out of the bottle inthe air stream will be taken out through the ball check valve assembly18.

In the modification illustrated in Figs. 8 through 14 the rate of flowis also automatically varied by varying the head tending to force theoil to a position from which it may be sucked into the intake manifold,but the head is varied by shifting the height of ,the outlet of the oilfrom the secondary reservoir instead of shifting the level of the oil aswas done in the first modification heretofore described.

In this modification the air emitted from the tube 88 draws oil up alongthe walls of tube I00 in the manner already described, and the oil thusdrawn up overflows into a secondary reservoir I02, which has an overflowback into the bottle for an excess supply through passageway I0 I. Anelement I04, clearly illustrated in Fig. 14 is provided with endbearings I08 and I08 which are seated in corresponding. bored outportions of the top casting IIO (Fig. 9). End bearing I08 is, however,directly supported by a. spring pressed plunger I38 as shown in Fig. 9.This element I04 is provided with a cored out passage II2 extendingaxially through bearing I06, which passage 5 communicates as clearlyindicated in Fig. 12 with a passage 4 opening into the secondaryreservoir I02. This element serves to provide the outlet from chamberI02.

The piston assembly 8 actuates the piston stem H8 in the manner alreadydescribed with reference to my first modification and in response tovariation of vacuum. The vacuum or depression of course varies in thebottle proportionately as it varies in the engine as described inconnection with the first form shown. The opposite extremity of pistonstem H8 is pivoted to a bifurcated portion I20 of element I04 wherebythe rise and fall of the piston assembly due to the variations of vacuumin chamber I22 causes a 0 corresponding. but inverse, rise and fall ofthe exit opening I24 of passage II2 as shown particularly in Fig. 10.Passageway H2 is of such reduced diameter that it stands full of oil,the oil clinging to the wall thereof, otherwise it would 5 not functionas described.

This exit is provided with a. small depending nub I26 which, by thetendency of any oil in the passage to adhere to the surface of itssupport, tends to cause the oil to flow from passage II 2 0 into thepocket I28 regardless of the tilting of member I04.

As the oil drops from opening I24 it falls into a trough like containerI 28 through which it is drawn by the suction in line 24 through tubeI30 35 to subsequently drop out of the upstanding goose neck portion I8Iof the said tube into a tray-like portion I32. From here it is drawnthrough a small aperture I34 into the suction line 24. which line isretained in the bottle top casting IIO by means of the threaded nippleI38.

The element I04 is snugly pivoted and sealed in position (Fig. 9) bymeans of a spring pressed plunger I38 slidable in a cored out portion ofcasting 30. This plunger is bored out at one extremity to form a seatfor hearing I08 and is supported by a coil spring I40 at its otherextremity.

The operation of this modified form is similar to that heretoforedescribed except that it does not show any booster or reinforcing meanscorresponding to the second air inlet tube found in the first form. Thevariable head of oil is maintained by a pivotally supported outletelement I04 and its tilting controlsthe discharge of the oil. Thistilting is,of course, in response to variation in vacuum in the bottle.This variation in vacuum or depression corresponds proportionately anddirectly with the variation in the vacuum in the manifold produced bythe running of the engine under variable conditions though laggingslightly behind the changes in depression occurring in the manifold. Thecontrol exercised over the discharge of oil is, of course, as describedin connection with the first modification exercisedso as to vary the oilsupply in an inverse ratio to the variation in vacuum.

Air is admitted to the bottle through the tube 98 and through openingsI48 and I40. The greater part of this air admitted through opening I49passes through the ball check assembly I50 directly into the containerabove the oil level, but a limited portion passes through aperture |5Iin bushing I52.

Air is drawn from the bottle into the oil stream, which already is madeup largely of air, through 75 the ball check valve assembly I42 in orderto maintain the depression in the bottle against deterioration by theadmission of air from the atmosphere. The air drawn from the bottle atthis point enters the oil stream at a point between the visible airgauge and the intake manifold so it does not disturb the visualmeasuring of flow.

I propose to secure my oiler to the dash panel IN by the metal strip I56illustrated. This particular securing means has been described in detailin my Patent No. 1,960,584, issued May 29, 1934.

Various modifications of my structure may be apparent to those skilledin the art and for that reason I intend to limit myself only within thescope of the appended claims.

What I claim:

1. Lubricating apparatus comprising, in combination, a lubricantcontainer, means for maintaining a depression in said container abovethe lubricant level, a standpipe in said container wherein lubricant isadmitted to be elevated above the level in the container, and two airinlet tubes leading into the standpipe at difierent levels to admit airthereinto to elevate lubricant therethrough.

2. Lubricating apparatus comprising, in combination, a container forlubricant wherein a depression is maintained, a standpipe in thecontainer through which lubricant may be elevated, a plurality of airinlet tubes communicating with the atmosphere and entering saidstandpipe at different levels to admit air thereinto, lubricant deliverymeans adapted to receive lubricant elevated through said standpipe andto .discharge it from the container.

3. Lubricating apparatus comprising, in com bination, a lubricantreservoir, a fiuid suction line communicating with the reservoir abovethe lubricant level, a secondary lubricant container within thereservoir, means for maintaining a supply of lubricant in said secondarycontainer including mechanism for delivering lubricant thereto from thereservoir, said container provided with a movable delivery outlet deviceadapted to deliver lubricant from the container into said suction line,and means responsive to variation in suction to actuate said delivery'device to regulate the delivery of lubricant from the container.

4. Lubricating apparatus comprising, in combination, a lubricantreservoir, a fluid suction line communicating with the reservoir, asecondary lubricant container within the reservoir, means formaintaining a supply of lubricant in said secondary container includingmechanism for delivering lubricant thereto from the reservoir, 2.swingably supported lubricant delivery member adapted to deliverlubricant from the container to said suction line and means responsiveto variation in depression in the reservoir to tilt said swingablysupported lubricant delivery member to regulate the delivery oflubricant from the container by raising or lowering the discharge outletof said delivery member.

5. Lubricant apparatus comprising, in combination, a lubricantreservoir, a fluid suction line communicating with the reservoir, asecondary lubricant container within the reservoir, a standpipe leadingfrom the reservoir to discharge into said container, an air conduitleading from the atmosphere into the bottom of said standpipe, saidstandpipe provided with a convolution therein provided with twoapertures, a second air conduit leading from the atmosphere into oneaperture in said convolution.

6. Lubricating apparatus comprising, in com bination, a lubricantreservoir, a fluid suction line communicating therewith, a secondarycontainer within the reservoir. a standpipe leading from adjacent to thebottom or the reservoir into said container and having a convolutionspaced above its lower end provided with two apertures, an air conduitleading from the atmosphere into the lower end of the standpipe, asecond air conduit leading from the atmosphere into the standpipethrough one of said apertures.

7. Lubricating apparatus comprising, in combination, a lubricantreservoir, a fluid suction line communicating therewith, a secondarycontainer within the reservoir having a movable wall portion, astandpipe within the reservoir through which lubricant is delivered intosaid secondary container, a suction responsive valve connected with saidmovable wall portion to actuate the same in response to suctionactuation 01' said valve to vary the head oi lubricant within saidcontainer.

8. Lubricating apparatus comprising, in combination, a lubricantreservoir, a fluid suction line communicating therewith, a standpipewithin the reservoir, a secondary container adjacent to the upper end ofthe standpipe and having a wall portion movable with respect to thestandpipe and adapted to regulate the lubricant level maintainedtherein, a suction responsive valve communicating with said movable wallportion to actuate the same.

9. Lubricating apparatus comprising,in combination, a lubricantcontainer, means for maintaining a. depression in said container abovethe lubricant level, a standpipe in said container wherein lubricant isadmitted to be elevated above the level in the container, and air inlettubes delivering air to said standpipe, one of said tubes being turnedupwardly into the lower end of the standpipe and another tube enteringthe standpipe and being turned upwardly therein at a level above saidlower end.

10. Lubricating apparatus for internal combustion engines comprising, incombination, a lubricant container, means for maintaining a depressionin said container above the lubricant level including a suction conduitadapted to be connected to the intake manifold of the engine, astandpipe in said container wherein lubricant is admitted to be elevatedabove the level in the container, an air inlet tube for delivering airto said standpipe, an air inlet in the wall of the container fordelivering air directly to the upper portion of said container, a checkvalve for controlling said air inlet, a secondary lubricant reservoir inthe upper portion of said container into which said standpipedischarges, and means for delivering lubricant from said secondaryreservoir to said suction conduit.

11. Lubricating apparatus for internal combustion engines comprising, incombination, a lubricant container, means for maintaining a depressionin said container above the lubricant level including a suction conduitadapted to be connected to the intake manifold of the engine, astandpipe in said container wherein lubricant is admitted to be elevatedabove the level in the container, an air inlet tube for delivering airto said standpipe, an air inlet for delivering air to the upperportion'of said container, a check valve for controlling said air inlet,a secondary lubricant reservoir in the upper portion of said containerinto which said standpipe discharges, and means for delivering lubricantfrom said secondary reservoir to said suction conduit including meansfor varying the flow of lubricant from said secondary reservoir ininverse proportion to the depression in the container.

12. Lubricating apparatus for internal combustion engines comprising, incombination, a lubricant container, means for maintaining a depressionin said container above the lubricant level including a suction conduitadapted to be connected to the intake manifold of the engine, astandpipe in said containerwherein lubricant is admitted to be elevatedabove the level in the container, an air inlet tube for delivering airto the standpipe below the liquid level in the container, a restrictedair inlet for delivering air to the upper portion of said container, asecondary lubricant reservoir in the upper portion of said containerinto which said standpipe discharges, means for delivering lubricantfrom said secondary reservoir to said suction conduit, means forcontrolling the delivery of lubricant from said secondary reservoir tothe suction conduit, and means establishing communication between theupper portion of the container and the suction conduit so as to admitair to the suction conduit on the engine side of said delivery controlmeans.

VERNON J. HARRIS.

